Despite appearing far past that point of nail-biting and the agonizing that goes into determining your college choice, I and every current student alike has once had to deal with the same decision. Because choosing a college feels like more than just choosing where you develop your education. You are choosing where you develop your sense of self and community that you will carry with you into the real world. That is not a decision you make lightly.
Many factors go into this decision: money, major options, location, etc. All these facets weighed heavily on my indecisive nature and left me very confused on where to decide. There was one factor I decided to let take the wheel and that was simply, feeling. Yes, I know that sounds cliché and intangible, how does one feel a university? But there was some sort of magnetic pull that always led me back to USC, a feeling that always put a smile of my face whenever I researched their website or saw pictures of campus.
The funny story is up until the day before decisions, I had planned to attend another university based on more substantial financial aid, very confident in this choice. That night before I woke up from a nightmare, feeling as though I was making some sort of wrong decision, and woke my dad up to reopen the college discussion. We decided that I should be choosing a university that feels right in my heart; the university whose the acceptance package left me in tears, and renders me truly excited to attend. Decision day comes up and I ultimately accept USC, with absolutely no feelings of regret or second doubts.
Fast forward three years and I really feel as though I have made USC a second home for myself. I have made life-long friends, gained invaluable confidence in my abilities, and overall have become the version of myself I have wanted most. Most importantly, that feeling is still here to this day, that feeling that this was and will always be the right choice of university for me. I still walk around campus to this day and it never ceases to put a smile of my face.
